


Ars Magna

by Lilium00



Category: Time Crisis (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23962252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilium00/pseuds/Lilium00
Summary: [TC5 zombie apocalypse AU] What if Luke and Marc failed to stop Robert and Robert escaped after carrying out his plans? Headcanon about Robert's reason for betraying the VSSE and ending the world.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Silent / Listen

**Author's Note:**

> \- Meant to be a direct continuation of TC5's story, except that since this is a zombie apocalypse AU, let's make Robert drop the zombie drug on the entire world instead of just New York. Yay~ :D
> 
> \- TC5 has a million unexplained things, so expect much of this to be something I made up to cover the holes. (Luke and Marc's backstory and their relationship with Robert, Robert's reason for betraying the VSSE, etc.)
> 
> \- Going to write with only the TC5 cast for now, but I might slip the others in if they're needed.
> 
> \- A bit about Robert's line to clear things up:  
> English version: The world will meet its end with a drug from the hands pretending to save it.  
> Japanese version: 正義面した奴らが作った薬で世界は一度終わる (The world will end once by the medicine created by the people who are pretending to carry out justice.)  
> ↑Apparently, the zombie drug was created by the VSSE, so we'll go with that.
> 
> \- All chapter titles are anagrams ;)

**【Chapter 1: Silent / Listen】**

It was all Marc Godart's fault.

He had a clean shot at Robert, the last chance anyone had to stop him from ending the world with a zombie apocalypse, but Marc found himself unable to pull the trigger. Everything after that happened in a blinding flash.

A bright explosion, doom sailing through the skies in the form of zombie drug missiles, Robert's maniacal laughter as he escaped the factory, and a gut-wrenching sense of despair as he failed to stop the traitorous mastermind. Overwhelmed by the irreversible disaster, Marc dropped to his knees.

"What are you doing?! GET DOWN!" He heard Keith yell, pulling him behind cover. Wild Dog's surviving men had arrived to take them down. Luke rolled in after them, shooting away at their attackers.

"You alright, man?" Luke asked as he reloaded.

"Iー I didn't mean to," Marc stuttered, still in disbelief that he had allowed Robert to escape. His hand shivered as he held his gun.

"Guys, this way!" They heard Catherine hovering over them with their chopper.

"Get down!" Keith warned Marc and Luke, throwing a hand grenade at Wild Dog's men. Using the explosion as a distraction, the three made their way to Catherine's chopper, escaping the factory.

* * *

_"We bring you the breaking news that there were sudden simultaneous explosions in various countries worldwide. The mysterious missiles landed in every major city and we suspect that this is the work of a major terrorist organization."_

_"A green mist has spread through the explosion site and the citizens in the area had displayed immediate aggression and zombie-like behavior."_

_"We have reports that people who were bitten began showing similar symptoms."_

_"Could we really be in a zombie apocalypse?"_

Out of the barrage of bad news flooding out of the radio, Catherine looked at the team and told them the worst, unable to hide the quiver of fear in her voice.

"I can't contact HQ."

Considering Robert's main goal was to take down the VSSE, it was only reasonable if he had launched some of his missiles straight to their base.

"They must have all evacuated, then!" Luke piped in with a grin.

Whether he was trying to be optimistic or trying to look away from the harsh reality, Marc didn't know. Catherine, however, was unconvinced and began to sob. Luke tried to comfort her. Whatever happened after that, Marc didn't have the composure to process itーhis mind wandered back to the factory and replayed the scene where he couldn't shoot Robert. Keith's fist crashing against his cheek woke him up.

"I saw you throw away your chance!" Keith yelled in frustration, grabbing him by the collar. "Why didn't you shoot him?!"

"Iー..." Marc looked away. What could he say to excuse himself, especially to Keith? The man who had been most hurt by Robert's actions.

"Cut the crap!" Luke cut in, pushing himself between Keith and Marc. "Mom told me not to cry over spilt milk. I think we have better things to do right now than fight among ourselves?" He suggested.

"The news said that the whole world's overrun. Robert must be CRAZY! Just hovering randomly over here won't do us any good, though. What should we do?" Luke asked again. He looked to Marc like he always does whenever he wanted strategy and advice.

Difficult as it was, Marc got a hold of himself. He was a VSSE agent after all and he shouldn't lose himself when things went bad, he told himself in his mind. Taking a deep breath, he gave his suggestion.

"We don't know HQ's situation for sure. I think we should head to New York and see where we stand and if there are any survivors."

"Oh! Sounds great!" Luke agreed. "Heh," Keith simply grunted in annoyance, although he had no qualms about it being the most logical thing to do. He sat on one of the seats in the chopper, setting his weapons aside.

"I'll try to sleep and calm down. Wake me up if there's any development," he said, glaring at Marc one last time before folding his arms and trying to sleep. Luke shrugged at Marc, motioning for him not to think too much about it. He walked over to Catherine, who was still slightly sobbing.

"Hey, Cathy. You go get some rest, too. Marc and I will take over until NY!"

Catherine wiped her tears and forced a smile. "Thanks, Luke." She gave Marc a sad look as she walked past him. Marc avoided her gaze.

* * *

The chopper was silent as they flew over the seas.

Catherine and Keith were fast asleep, clearly exhausted. Luke had turned off the radio a little earlier, as the situation had worsened quickly and everyone had stopped broadcasting in order to evacuate. He focused on driving the chopper.

In that silence, Marc stared out of the side window at the vast seas below, half hoping that it would just swallow him whole for what he did.

"You aren't angry at me?" Marc asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"For not shooting at Robert? Well..." Luke thought for awhile, "Considering it ended up with him starting a zombie apocalypse, maybe a bit. Not that getting angry at my buddy will solve anything, though."

Marc couldn't help chuckling a little. "You're always so light and positive about everything it's funny sometimes."

"Huh? Isn't it better that way? I prefer doing that to being down in the dumps!" Luke grinned. "Still, though, got me curious. Why didn't you shoot him? If you have a problem, I'm always here to listen. You're always the more logical one of the two of us, aren't you?"

Marc was kind of glad that he had a friend who understood him.

"I don't know, Luke," Marc admitted with a sigh, "I joined the VSSE because I always looked up to its agentsーhow they're always bravely facing evil and upholding justice no matter how desperate the situation is. Robert was a legendary agent I particularly admire since my first days."

Thinking back to the incident in Wild Dog's factory, Marc frowned. Robert's words that caught him off guard rang loud and clear in his mind.

_"The world will meet its end with a drug from the hands pretending to save it."_

_"But you'll learn the truth soon enough. There is more than just one right in the world."_

The VSSE made the drugs? For what? And the truth. What was the truth? As far as he knew, Robert could be brash and impatient at times, but he wasn't illogical or insane. What could have pushed a veteran whom everyone looked up to to the other side? There were too many unanswered and urgent questions that made his head spin. Marc gulped as he told Luke what scared him the most.

"What if Robert was right?"

To Marc's grim question, Luke simply shrugged, easygoing beyond comprehension as he always was.

"Good thing that you kept the man alive, then! I guess we get to beat the truth out of him!"

Despite Luke's grin, Marc could easily make out the seething rage that boiled beneath. Marc nodded. He felt as though he wouldn't find any closure himself either if Robert had taken all the answers with him to the grave.

He needed to know that he was doing the right thing.


	2. Garden / Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to keep this fic short, but let's see~

**【Chapter 2: Garden / Danger】**

It was dark by the time the team's chopper passed the sea and hovered inland. As the silhouette of the harbor city of New York came into view, Luke called out with a worried voice.

"Uhh... Cathy...? Keith, sir?"

Catherine, just waking up from her sleep, rubbed at her eyes. "Are we there?" She asked. Keith, having awoken and stood up, froze in his steps immediately when he saw what was ahead of them. "No way..."

The night sky was red, lit not by the city lights, but only by fires that tore through the entire city. As they got closer, they could see the roads littered with dead bodies and filled with nothing but the now swaying, mindless citizens. A lot of them were missing body parts and some were even aggressive enough to fight with one another.

Marc grit his teeth, nails digging into his palms. This. He could have prevented this. If onlyー

Luke smacked him lightly on his back. Marc looked at him.

"We're all at fault here too for passing the most difficult part of that mission to you. Don't bear it all alone," Luke said, cheering him up.

"Tch." Keith folded his arms and looked away in annoyance. Having calmed down after his rest, he tried talking to Marc again. "I guess the boy's got a point. I did say I wanted to end that arsehole with my own hands. Sorry for not taking him down earlier."

Catherine nodded. "I wish I could have helped more, too. Let's do whatever we can to find a solution after this," she said despite how hopeless this all seemed.

Marc smiled a little at everyone's consideration. "Thanks, guys. I'll make sure that we get to the bottom of this."

"Good!" Luke exclaimed happily, "Now time for the bad news! I think we only have enough fuel to make it to HQ. After that, no more choppers for us."

"Great," Catherine said sarcastically.

"Guess we'll just have to see if there's anything else we can ride around HQ if we need it," Keith suggested.

* * *

As predicted, the chopper arrived at the VSSE HQ just as the fuel ran out.

What greeted Marc and the others was the sight of zombified agents roaming the HQ grounds. As they had expected and feared, there was a giant crater right there in what used to be a garden in front of the building. Remnants of the missile and the tube carrying the zombie drug could be seen scattered around. The beautiful place which they had once called home was now overrun by death and destruction. Things weren't looking good.

"Are there really no survivors?" Catherine asked in despair.

"I'll land behind the building. It's close to the parking lot, so we can grab a vehicle if we find survivors," Luke suggested.

"Wait!" Marc called out, "Look over there!"

Everyone's attention directed to the HQ's roof, they could see a small group of people fighting off the zombies there.

"Survivors!" Marc exclaimed like he had just found the world's greatest treasure, "And that's the VSSE chief! He's alive!"

"Guess we go and give them a hand," Luke said, "I'm landing on the roof! Ready your guns!"

As Luke swerved their chopper towards the roof, Marc, Keith and Catherine stood by the doors, picking off as many zombies as possible before they landed. The VSSE chief and the team of agents noticed them, some of them cheering and waving in gratitude. Once their chopper landed, the four made their way to provide assistance.

"The heroes are here!" Luke yelled in excitement as he rushed forward to get rid of some zombies trying to attack his comrades.

Catherine winced a little as she pulled her trigger, reminded that they were shooting what used to be their own coworkers just yesterday. Keith put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't falter. They've lost their minds to the drug. Put them out of their misery," Keith advised solemnly. Catherine nodded bitterly, reloading and shooting again.

In the meantime, Marc had rushed to the chief's defense. "Watch out!" He shouted as he shot down a zombie trying to attack his boss. "Chief! Are you alright?!"

"Yes. Thanks, Mr. Godart. I certainly have the best agents," the chief replied gladly, reloading his gun and returning to the fight.

"Clear the way and barricade the entrance to the roof!" Keith commanded. Some of the agents seemed surprised, recognizing Keith as the rumored traitor. Catherine jumped in to defend him.

"He's on our side! We'll explain what happened later. Just do as he says for now!"

Pushing the zombies back little by little, the agents managed to reach the roof's door, quickly slamming it shut and shoving whatever they could find to barricade it, effectively preventing more zombies from coming.

"Whew!" Luke said, dropping to his butt on the floor as he relaxed a little.

"What's happening here?" One of the agents asked Catherine, demanding an explanation for Keith.

"It's agent Robert Baxter. He's the real traitor who framed Keith! And he's the one behind this whole mess!" She blurted out angrily, still in disbelief that he had fooled them all this time.

"What?!" The VSSE chief exclaimed. Upon hearing Robert's name, something seemed to have dawned on him. The colour drained from his face and his eyes widened in fear and shock.

"Sir! Do you know something about it?!" Marc asked hastily.

But before he could hear the answer, he caught sight of something at the edge of his vision. Without wasting another second, Marc tackled the chief, just in time to get both of them away from an explosion where they had been standing.

"Chief!" Marc called out. The chief grunted as he tried to make out what was happening, but fortunately, he was unharmed. The sound of a helicopter could be heard as the smoke cleared.

"Bloody hell!" Keith cursed as he looked up at the man on it, "ROBERT!"

That certainly got everyone's hair to stand on end. Looking up, Robert was certainly there in a helicopter with Wild Dog's logo on it, rocket launcher in hand.

"What do you want?!" Marc shouted as he immediately got to his feet, as if eager to get a second chance at shooting Robert down.

"Getting rid of this world's problem!" Robert spat, "That demon standing behind you!" He pointed angrily at the VSSE chief.

"I shot the missile here just so the old man can have a taste of his own medicine, but oh! How lucky of him to survive! Guess I'll have to take him out myself!"

"What are you talking about?!" Catherine shouted angrily, "You're the demon who needs to be taken out here!"

Robert just laughed as though he didn't care. Dropping the rocket launcher to the side, Robert grabbed onto the heavy machine gun mounted on the chopper, raining down a shower of bullets on the agents. Everyone ducked to take cover.

"Take him down!" Keith ordered.


	3. Crates / Traces

**【Chapter 3: Crates / Traces】**

Robert's bullets were chaotic as he shot indiscriminately. The pure rage Marc could feel in every bulletーit was different from the Robert he knew until now.

"Hahahahaha!" Robert laughed as he continued shooting, sounding much more like the crazed Wild Dog than a VSSE agent.

"He's not giving us a chance to fight back!" Marc said to Keith, tense, barely squeezing in behind cover with him and the chief.

Robert's relentless bullets broke through the crates that some of the less fortunate agents used as cover, taking them out. "Whoa!" Luke cried out in panic as he hurriedly pushed Catherine behind the neighboring crates and shielded her. Robert was aiming for them next.

"Luke!" Marc called out with worry as one of the crates broke. Keith grit his teeth in anger, quickly forming a plan in his mind.

"Marc, give me your grenade gun!" He ordered.

"Huh?!" Before Marc could react, Keith grabbed the grenade gun off his belt and took off with it into the bullet rain.

"Keith!" Marc shouted in disbelief at the suicidal action. Spotting Keith, Robert directed his attention at him.

"KEITH!" Robert yelled at the top of his lungs, "I've always hated you for being in my way! Why won't you just DIE?!"

Maneuvering across the roof like the skilled professional he was, Keith dodged as many bullets as possible, but he could only do so much against the firing speed of a machine gun. Ignoring the piercing pain that spread through his arms and torso, he pushed on forward with abandon. Once close enough to Robert's chopper, Keith raised his arm and pointed his grenade gun at his ex-partner, glaring with all the pain he felt from Robert's betrayal.

_'This is for Christy.'_

"!" Robert gasped in surprise as Keith pulled the trigger, the grenade heading straight for him. Marc winced as the chopper exploded and came spinning down, before crashing on the roof of the neighboring building and exploding again. Keith dropped to the ground.

"Keith!" Catherine shouted, jumping out of her cover and running to him. Luke and Marc followed suit.

"Oh my god, no!" She exclaimed as she pulled the heavily breathing and bleeding Keith onto her lap. "Keith...! What should we do?!"

Luke and Marc, equally terrified, looked around as though one of the other agents might have an answer. Then the chief stepped in.

"We grabbed some first aid kits earlier while we were trying to escape the building. And some of us here are medics. We'll take care of him," he offered.

"OH! So grateful to hear that! Thanks, Chief!" Luke replied gladly.

"But what about Robert?" Marc asked, looking towards the burning chopper wreckage with Luke. It was then that they saw a figure climb out of the mess.

"Robert!" They exclaimed in unison.

Robert seemed to be wounded, but otherwise, he was alive and well. Noticing that the agents saw him, he hurriedly grabbed his rocket launcher and climbed out of the wreckage, running away towards the neighboring rooftop.

"He's getting away!" Luke ran after him by reflex.

"Luke!" Marc shouted, worried about his partner who just ran without thinking.

"We need to stop him quickly," the chief warned, "Or else he'll just call more of Wild Dog's men and ambush us again. Then we'll be finished!"

Luke grit his teeth and nodded. This was probably their last chance of stopping Robert. Leaving Keith in Catherine's care, he quickly ran after Luke.

* * *

As Luke and Marc chased Robert across New York's rooftops, several more of Wild Dog's men showed up on the way to stop them.

Luke and Marc quickly dispatched them and continued the chase. Known as the two fastest agents in the entire VSSE, they quickly closed the gap between themselves and Robert.

"You're not getting away this time, Robert!" Luke shouted, shooting at him once he was close enough.

"Tch!" Robert glared back at him. Having the rookies he fooled be the ones to kill himーfate must be trying to play some sick joke. Still, Robert knew how inhumanly fast these two could run, so he wasn't going to test his luck and try to outrun them with all his wounds. Arriving on the rooftop of a department store, he quickly busted the rooftop door open with his rocket launcher, before running into it.

Luke and Marc followed Robert inside, running down the stairs and arriving on the department store's top floorーthe furnitures section.

"Robert!" Luke yelled.

Marc looked around. There were no traces of the man, but a loud, monstrous growl was suddenly heard from behind the furnitures. A figure jumped out at Luke and Marc shot it down. More figures showed up from around the corner, attracted by the noise.

"Zombified civilians!" He exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Luke cursed as he helped Marc take them down.

The drug negating all pain and fear, the way the zombies attacked made it hard for Marc to think that these were just civilians. They all fought tooth and nail as though they were desperate soldiers defending their country on the brink of defeat. He felt even more unsettled at how there was nothing in their eyes aside from the wish to kill everything that moved, continuing to fight even after losing their limbs or having over ten bullets in their chests.

Luke and Marc panted in exhaustion after finally clearing the giant horde that came after them.

"You okay?" Marc asked Luke.

"Yeah," Luke said, "That was crazy, though! Sir Chief'd better pay us LOTS of bonuses for overworking us!"

Marc laughed. He was just glad that his friend was alright. He was just about to ask Luke to continue searching for Robert, when he saw the man himself standing a little behind Luke, pointing his rocket launcher at him. Marc's eyes widened in horror.

"LUKE! NO!" Marc shouted, but he was too late.

"Huh?!" Luke turned, just in time to see Robert shoot his rocket launcher right at him.

A huge explosion. The floor in front of Marc crumbled. A deafening crash shook the entire building as a giant puff of smoke and dust rose from the gaping hole.

"LUUUKE!" Marc shouted, looking down into the abyss, "Luke! Answer me!"

No response. He couldn't see anything down there with all the smoke. He began to panic. Robert laughed.

"There's no way he could have survived that one! Now, it's your turn!" He said, readying the rocket launcher again. However, Robert soon realized that he was out of ammunition.

"Tch!" He threw the now useless weapon aside, grabbing his handgun and shooting at Marc. Marc dodged the hail of bullets. Robert turned tail and ran away again, heading further into the building.

"Luke!" Marc called weakly one last time, hoping for any form of response.

None came.

"Luke..."

A heavy feeling built up in Marc's chest as he swallowed, trying his best to pull himself together. He shouldn't let everything go to waste. Tightening his grip on his gun, he ran after Robert.


	4. Dare / Dear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably write a line or two about the other named agents' situation in the last chapter or something :)

**【Chapter 4: Dare / Dear】**

'Robert...'

Marc followed Robert's trail into the apparel section of the department store. He looked around, being extra alert as it was hard to differentiate between which silhouette could be a mannequin and which could be a zombie or his target. Glancing down at the floor, he could see a trail of blood. Must have been from Robert's wounds, he thought. He narrowed his eyes bitterly.

How did it come to this?

The Robert he knew was a respectable man—one who cared more about others than himself, always ready to give up his life to save the world. He had also been one of Marc's major motivations during his early days in the VSSE. Memories of the past flooded his mind as he thought back to their first meeting.

* * *

A year ago, Marc had freshly joined the VSSE. His dear partner, also a new agent, seemed to have a love for getting himself into trouble. Marc always had to berate him a lot during every single mission.

"Luke! Keep rushing ahead without thinking, and you're going to die for real! Let's wait for backup!" Marc warned when one mission turned bad.

"Shut up, scaredy cat! Backup won't arrive on time! As long as we beat the bad guy, right? What's one life lost if I can save this entire city!" Luke retorted, rushing ahead again into an aggressive enemy crowd.

"Ugghhh…" Marc planted his face into his palms in exasperation.

From what he knew, Luke was scouted from the streets—an outcast of society, and an unemployed, irritable punk who knew only how to fight. A disappointment to his parents, Luke's days were filled with nothing but depression and alcohol, feeling as though his life meant nothing. But then a chance meeting allowed him to rescue a VSSE agent from some gangsters, leading to the agent telling him that the VSSE could use someone with his skills and sense of justice. It was his second chance at life.

Great and all, Marc thought, except that the idiot had interpreted it as owing his life to the VSSE and that he'd gladly throw it away if it could further the organization's purpose.

"He's a real pain, that guy." Robert, who had been assigned as their mentor during this mission, sighed along with Marc.

"Well, we can't just sit here, though! I'm going after him!" Marc said, reloading his gun.

"You'll get yourself killed, too," Robert warned him, "O'Neil might lose his life, but he can handle this. Ours is a job where people lay down their lives for the greater good—they hammered that in during training, didn't they?"

"That's true, but…" Marc grit his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. Unlike Luke, who was a rebel ninety percent of the time and refused to even wear proper clothes to his missions, Marc was on the obedient side of the scale. But just this once, rage built up in him and he found that he just had to snap at his superior.

"But Luke's not just a discardable tool for keeping world peace!" Marc shouted as he glared at Robert.

"He's my PARTNER!"

With that, Marc readied his gun and was about to rush into the suicide battle after Luke, but Robert stopped him.

"…?" Marc looked up at Robert.

"Heh, I thought that sort of idealistic thought had died years ago, the VSSE's recent missions getting more difficult and all," Robert said with a grin. "You sound like you'll be a good and dependable agent in future, kid, so stay here and be safe."

Robert readied his gun and knives. "Leave saving your friend to the veteran."

Marc watched him rush into battle, then. With how aggressive and powerful the enemy forces were, Robert seemed to have a hard time pushing through them. Although he sustained some injuries on the way, he never gave up as he forced his way to where Luke was and successfully saved him from a pinch. The two worked together and took down the enemy leader afterwards.

With all the wounds he got, Robert almost died. Owing their lives to him, Luke and Marc made sure to visit him in the hospital until he recovered after that.

"I suppose I have something to look forward to in future!" Robert laughed. "O'Neil, you've got the courage to become one of our best agents in future, and a very caring partner. How lucky of you!" he told Luke.

Luke grinned, scratching his head. "Thanks. Both of you. I'll try not to be too brash next time and watch Marc's back, too!"

"Why, thanks!" Marc grinned at his friend.

"And Godart," Robert called. Marc looked his way.

"I think you have the right attitude when your partner's in danger. I hope you grow strong enough to protect your friends," Robert said with a smile.

Despite that, Marc thought he caught a hint of sadness in Robert's distant eyes. Having worked with the VSSE for years, it would have been natural for Robert to have lost many friends, their missions being dangerous and all. Marc returned the smile and nodded.

* * *

Marc ended his train of thought as he shot down some civilian zombies who came his way. He just couldn't find where Robert could have clashed with the VSSE since he was such a man of virtue. Having cleared the zombie crowd in front of him, Marc heard gunshots coming from another direction.

'Robert…!'

Marc turned to look in the direction of the noise, seeing Robert there being attacked by the zombies himself. Heavily wounded and exhausted, Robert didn't seem to be doing very well in defending himself.

_'Now's my chance!'_

Marc held up his gun, aiming straight at Robert. He put his finger on the trigger, only to find that he couldn't bring himself to pull it yet again. His breathing and heartbeat quickened. Fear and doubt clouded his mind.

Am I shooting an evil mastermind or am I shooting a victim? Is he a comrade or an enemy? What if he's right? Is the VSSE covering up something? Are they trying to fool me into shooting my own mentor?

_Am I doing the right thing?_

"Tch!" Marc swung his gun to the side and shot at the zombies attacking Robert. Robert seemed surprised to see Marc coming to his assistance, but he had no time to question it as more zombies came to attack.

"Stay back!" Marc said, standing in front of Robert to defend him. Robert was certainly in no shape to keep on fighting. Marc gasped when he ran out of bullets.

"Here, use this!" Robert said, throwing one of his twin knives at Marc. Marc caught it, nodding at Robert and using the knife to continue fighting.

They seemed to be having the upper hand as they cleared the zombies, until the last one standing overpowered Robert and bit into his neck.

"Ghwahh!" Robert shouted in pain.

"Robert!" Marc rushed towards him, ending the attacking zombie in one fell swoop.

Robert fell to the ground. A ring was knocked out of his pocket as he crashed, its gentle bell-like sound resounding through the now empty halls as it landed out of Robert's reach.

"No…! Trish…" Robert called out, desperately reaching out for the ring.

'Trish?' Marc wondered. Who was that?

Robert cringed as the pain from the zombie bite shot through him, but he looked forward and dragged himself along the floor, trying to get his ring back. Tears flowed from his eyes.

"…" The sight pained Marc. He ran towards the ring, picked it up and gently returned it to Robert.

"Here," he said, holding it out. Robert grabbed onto it and held it in his palm as though it was the most important thing to him, crying even more.

"…" Marc watched him for a moment, not sure how he should look at Robert. The zombie bite would turn Robert into a zombie in a few minutes, so it wasn't necessary for him to end the man himself. Marc helped him up to a sitting position against a nearby wall.

"Robert… You're a righteous man as far as I've known you. I don't think what you did is right, but at the same time, I don't think you've ended the world for a selfish reason," Marc said, "If the VSSE have ever wronged you, please… I have to know what happened. I don't want it to repeat the same mistake and hurt anyone else."

"Hahaha, to have a rookie be the only one willing to lend an ear to me after all this time," Robert said, laughing bitterly. He swallowed, unfurling his fingers and looking at the ring in his palm wistfully. Although it was covered in Robert's blood, Marc could make out that it was a simple but expensive-looking silver ring, a beautiful diamond adorning its top.

"Trish, isn't it?" Marc asked curiously. "Who is she and what did the VSSE ever do to her?"

"A kind rookie agent like yourself," Robert said, wiping away his tears, before continuing bitterly.

"The VSSE—they killed her."


	5. Cried / Cider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Headcanon party! Try not to get things mixed up with canon XD
> 
> EDIT: Edited some parts and added some lines to make it clearer that Robert felt bad about his mean thoughts. Thanks for the suggestions, June Ellie!

**【Chapter 5: Cried / Cider】**

"Hey, Keith! Wanna hang out tonight? I bought your favourite drink for us!" A young Robert Baxter called out to his friend excitedly after a long mission.

"Oh! Uhh... Sorry, Rob. Got a date with Christy tonight. You cool if we have it some other time?" Keith asked.

"Oh, oh! Don't worry about it!" Robert said. "You two have a good time and tell me how it went when you get back! Hahaha!"

Keith smiled at him. "Thanks, bud." He took his coat and left then, calling out to Christy. "Honey? I'm ready when you are!"

Robert waved at them as he watched them leave. Despite his smile, a part of him felt like it broke and died every time he had to do that. He sighed, his fake smile melting away into a sad face. Head hung low, he walked off to do some target practice to blow off steam.

It was hard to deny that he liked Christy. She was brave, intelligent and beautifulーeverything that he could wish for in a woman. But if there was something Robert wasn't good at, it was how shy he was when it came to confessing his feelings. But just when he finally managed to pull himself together and decided that he would ask Christy out, he walked in on something that broke his heart.

Keith was standing there, confessing his feelings to Christy first. Christy accepted gladly. Robert watched the two kiss in each other's arms from behind a wall, alone in the shadows.

As much as he remembered, he had always been a little angry at the two of them after that. Keithーhow could his best friend just stand in his way and steal his chance like that? And Christy, oh, Christy...! HE was the one who saved her from certain death during the Neodyne incident, and she had to pay him back by leaving him for Keith!

Robert forced himself to put his gun down immediately when his mind started seeing his practice targets as Keith and Christy.

He noticed that this his jealousy was getting to him and had tipped him over the edge of sanity. What was he thinking?! His two best friends were in love and happy with each other. Besides, who Christy chose to be with wasn't his to decide. He didn't want to end up being a mean control freak like many of the villains he fought so hard against.

Deciding that he should take a break for today, Robert holstered his gun and sighed. He needed to calm down and reorganize his thoughts, and maybe try to look at the situation more objectively. It was late into the night by now. He looked towards the only other person in the room who seemed to still be training.

It was a young female agent dressed in pink. The way she handled the gun so badly suggested that she was a rookie. Robert cringed at how horrible her aim and firing speed was, wondering how the higher ups even let such a dud into the organization. After a few more failed shots the woman stopped. The way her shoulder shook told Robert that she was crying in frustration.

_'Ah, shit...'_

Robert thought that he'd be a total jerk if he just ditched the poor thing alone, so he walked up to her and tried to be as gentle as he could.

"Is everything alright?" Robert asked. "Everyone has to start from somewhere, so don't worry if you're missing a lot at first. I can teach you a thing or two if you want."

"Mr. Baxter...!" The girl recognized him straight away as one of the VSSE's famous agents. "Sorry, sir, I'm okay. Thank you," she said, smiling at him and quickly rubbing away her tears.

Robert brought her to sit in the resting area and got her some water. After she calmed down, she introduced herself.

"I'm Trishy Caryn. Joined the VSSE last month. I get scared easily during missions and I'm unbelievably horrible compared to my partner, so I thought I'd practice more to catch up."

"Oh, that's a good spirit!" Robert replied with a smile, "I'm sure you'll catch up quickly considering how hard you're working."

"Hee hee, thanks! I'll do my best!" She replied sweetly. She seemed to notice something, then. "Mr. Baxter, is something bothering you? You seem a little... sad," she said.

"Oh!" Trishy seeing right through his fake smile caught Robert off guard. "Really, now? I thought you're the one who's crying," he replied, trying to hide his feelings. Trishy giggled.

"I used to be a nurse and I love taking care of people. I can tell."

"..." Robert thought that he had just gotten himself into more bad luck tonight, hoping that she wouldn't pry.

"Well, you don't have to tell me what it is!" Trishy said cheerfully, "But expect little gifts from me every once in awhile. Just think of it as a return for helping me with target practice!"

* * *

Trishy's gifts ranged from candies and chocolates to little items that Robert could use during his missions, such as bandaids and gun parts. Robert gave her gifts of his own once in awhile, since he didn't want to always be on the receiving end. Soon enough, they were spending more time together outside practice sessions, and Robert enjoyed it.

Instead of looking for all the reasons Keith shouldn't be with Christy, Robert's mind was more occupied with thinking of what cute gift to send Trishy next. Instead of wishing that Keith would die during a mission so he could have Christy, Robert was now thinking of where to take Trishy sightseeing next.

Despite his current happiness, Robert couldn't believe that he had fallen into such depths in the past, wishing death upon and cursing his own best friends. He felt as though he had to be punished for it. At one point, Robert felt that someone as twisted and insane as he was didn't deserve Trishy either. But when he spilled the beans about it, Trishy forgave him and accepted him for who he was, saying that it was all in the past.

Unlike Christy, Trishy wasn't particularly smart or beautiful, neither was she brave. But she was the kindest soul Robert had met and he loved her for it.

This time, he actually got to confess his feelings to Trishy, officially getting into a relationship with her. After a long time, he could finally let go of his jealousy of Keith and Christy, waving goodbye at them with a true smile whenever the two left for their dates.

* * *

"Hey, Trish!" Robert called when she visited him at his home one time, "I got these drinks for Keith a while ago, but well, we never got to drinking them since he's having the time of his life." Robert laughed, popping the bottle caps open.

"I guess he won't mind if we have them instead," he continued, pouring the drinks for himself and Trishy, who giggled after him.

"Thanks, Robert! To our happiness," she said, toasting with him.

"I'm going on my next mission tomorrow," Trishy said.

"Heard it's a little on the difficult side. Be careful," Robert warned. Trishy smiled.

"Thanks to your training, they've entrusted me with the more important missions now. My partner's also happy with my progress! I'll finish this mission and tell you how it went!" She said excitedly.

"Heh, it's a classified mission, right? So I can't ask you the details," Robert said. "Still, do it well and when you come home, I'll have a pleasant surprise waiting for you!" He teased.

"Oh! I wonder what it is! A gift?" Trishy asked, her eyes bright.

"A special gift. Look forward to it! Maybe we should have a feast to celebrate your first difficult mission, too!"

"Yay!" The two laughed heartily.

* * *

A few days later, Robert was sitting alone at the VSSE HQ's lobby, waiting to pick Trishy up when she returned from her mission tonight. He opened the little velvet box in his hand, peeking at the elegant diamond ring that sat in itーthe surprise gift he had prepared for his girlfriend.

_'Trish, will you marry me?'_

The sentence he had practiced so many times floated in his mind. Cheeks feeling hot as he imagined her gentle smile and reply, Robert closed the box, feeling quite jittery and excited.

His daydream broken only by some hurried shuffling noises, Robert looked down the hall to see three agents looking like they were in a panic. Putting the box he held away in his pocket, Robert stood up and approached them.

"What's the matter here?" He asked one of them.

"Oh, Mr. Baxter!" The agent exclaimed. "A mission that's supposed to end today has gone horribly wrong. We're looking for any agent who can offer some backup!" Robert's face soured.

"Is it Agent Trishy Caryn's mission?"

The agent gave Robert a mortified look.

"Yes."


	6. Pale / Plea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Added a few paragraphs to make some things about the VSSE's use of the drug clearer and that it's used with consent (The scene near the end of this chapter where Robert and the VSSE chief talk about it). Thanks for the suggestions, June Ellie!

**【Chapter 6: Pale / Plea】**

His girlfriend in danger, it was only natural for Robert to sign himself up as part of the backup operation. Going with four other agents in a chopper, he was quickly briefed about his mission en route.

The VSSE had been developing an experimental drug that was supposedly able to negate pain and fear. It was meant to be used as a last resort to help agents deal with their enemies when they were in a pinch in order to ensure a mission's success, especially when said enemies needed to be taken down at all costs.

Trishy's team of four was supposed to transport the first finished samples for field testing through a hidden forest route, until an information leak caused them to be ambushed by Wild Dog's men. They were certainly eager to get their hands on such a useful drug.

Robert cursed inwardly. He just couldn't count the number of times Wild Dog had to ruin everyone's day anymore. When he arrived on site, Trishy was the only one left standing in the forest clearing, desperately fending for herself among the dead bodies of her teammates and the wreckage that used to be their vehicle.

"Trish!" Robert yelled, jumping out of his chopper with the other agents to assist her.

"Robert!" She welcomed him gladly, face streaked with tears of fear and devastation at the situation and the death of her friends.

"Where's the drug?" Robert asked.

"I have it!" Trishy said, motioning to the suitcase at her feet.

"You're wounded! Take the drug to safety and rest in the chopper. We'll handle this!" Robert ordered. Trishy nodded, grabbing the suitcase and running away. If such a drug were to fall into Wild Dog's hands, he'd be unstoppable.

"Not so fast!"

It was Wild Dog himself, entering the scene on an armored vehicle. Robert watched in horror as Wild Dog shot at Trishy, successfully hitting her in the leg. Trishy screamed, crashing roughly onto the ground.

"Wild Dog!" Robert shouted angrily, shooting at him.

"Hahahahaha!" Wild Dog laughed, deflecting Robert's bullets with his metallic arm. "Got a surprise for you!"

With that, Wild dog then activated his tractor beam, aiming it at Trishy's wrecked vehicle and lifting it up with ease.

"What?!" Robert couldn't believe his eyes. The last time he saw Wild Dog use his trademark weapon, he had never been able to lift something that heavy. Apparently, he had powered it up. He didn't have much time to think about it as Wild Dog swung the vehicle violently towards him.

Robert managed to dodge the attack, but all his other comrades weren't so lucky, easily crushed by the wreckage. Wild Dog then swung the vehicle at the chopper Robert arrived in.

"No!" Trishy exclaimed, watching their only chance of escape burst into flames. Wild Dog laughed maniacally.

"Looks like we're on the winning side," he taunted.

"Like we'd let you! More agents will be here soon!" Robert replied.

"You'd be long dead and we'd be long gone with the drug by then!" Wild Dog laughed.

Trishy watched in horror as Robert tried to take down Wild Dog's forces alone, greatly outnumbered. To think that she could only curl up in fear and pain here instead of helping him.

"Argh!" Robert yelled as a bullet pierced his arm. Wild Dog and his men continued shooting him relentlessly, seemingly taking pleasure in cornering Robert. They knew that the lone agent had no chance in fighting all of them at once. Trishy realized that she had to go and help Robert no matter what.

Shivering, her hand reached out to open the suitcase she held. Grabbing one of the syringes with the bright green drug inside, she quickly injected it into herself.

The effect was immediate. She could feel the pain from her wounded leg disappearing, as though she had never been shot. Looking at Wild Dog's horde of men, for some unexplained reason, she felt as though she could take down all of them. She had never felt better or more confident her whole life!

Getting back to her feet, she grabbed her machine gun and charged straight at Wild Dog's men. She caught them by surprise, shooting at them without any hesitation.

"Trish?!" Robert called out when the attack on him stopped.

He saw Trishy fighting so aggressively in the distance he almost couldn't tell that it was her. Laughing loudly, Trishy looked as though she enjoyed tearing the enemy apart. Robert was horrified at how fast she took down all the grunts by herself. Then he saw the suitcase with the drug lying open where Trishy had been just a few minutes ago, an empty syringe on the side. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're going down, too!" Trishy yelled challengingly at Wild Dog.

"Heh! Die!" Wild Dog shouted back, using his tractor beam to pick up a sharp piece of metal from the chopper wreckage and lunging it straight through Trishy's stomach, sending her crashing to the ground.

"NO!" Robert yelled. But to his horror, Trishy just got herself back up, wrenching out the metal from her stomach and lunging it straight back at Wild Dog.

"GAH!" Wild Dog barely evaded it, looking shocked himself. Trishy laughed, emptying her machine gun at him without mercy. Unable to keep up with her, Wild Dog retreated.

"Hmph! Don't think that you've won!" He said, pressing his big red button and disappearing with the explosion.

As the smoke cleared, Trishy panted as she stood. Sweat and blood covered her from head to toe. Robert was left speechless as he looked at her. A normal human shouldn't be able to stand with all the wounds she sustained.

"Trish...?" Robert called out, worried and scared for her safety and well-being.

Trishy turned to glare at him through disheveled hair with bloodshot eyes. Robert gasped in shock. The woman standing in front of him didn't feel like Trishy anymore. She lunged at Robert with bloodlust, like she was still unsatisfied after killing all of Wild Dog's troops. Robert knocked her gun out of her hands and pinned her to the ground.

"Gaaahhh! Gwaaaahhh!" Trishy screamed like a siren, trying to break free from Robert's grasp.

"Trish! Trish! It's me, Robert!" Robert tried to get her back to her senses in vain. She only replied with more screams, certainly not recognizing him. Hearing the sound of a chopper hovering above him, Robert knew that his backup had arrived.

"Fuck! What happened here?! Is that Agent Caryn?!" One of the newly arrived agents asked as he approached Robert with his four teammates.

"It's the effects of the new drug and she's wounded badly. We need to get her out of here!" Robert told them hurriedly.

Trish being very uncooperative, they tried to knock her out, only for her to break free from Robert's grip and bite one of the agents in the process. They successfully knocked her out afterwards, but had to knock the other agent out as well once he began showing similar symptoms.

On the way to the VSSE labs to complete the transportation of the drugs, Robert held Trishy's pale hand the whole time, praying to every god to save her.

* * *

Trishy and the other infected agent were kept in the labs, strapped to beds with straitjackets for a whole year as the VSSE scientists tried to figure out if they could be cured. They also had to invent fake stories for the two agents' families to explain why they were missing.

Robert visited the labs often to see if they had made any progress with Trishy. When he had the time, he'd also go and comfort Trishy's single mother, telling her lies that Trishy was alright, and that she'd come back soon. He told those lies to himself every night as well as he laid in bed, the ring he was supposed to give her lying on his bedside table.

The drug was supposed to be kept top secret even within the organization, as they wanted to prevent further info leaks from attracting more criminals. Only the superiors, those related to its development, and a select few of the VSSE agents knew of its existence. Robert himself wasn't allowed to talk about it to anyone.

Keith and Christy, despite not knowing the details of what happened to Trishy, tried to reach out to Robert sometimes. Robert gladly accepted their invitations, although he found that he couldn't be truly happy until Trishy's problem was solved.

Despite doing his best to keep his hopes high and be optimistic about it, Robert's world came crashing down when he visited the labs one day and the scientists told him that they had to put an end to Trishy the previous night.

While they were trying to test another possible antidote on her, she had fought back and broken free of her straps by forcefully ripping her arms off. She managed to bite three of the scientists in retaliation as they tried to stop her. In their own defense, they had to shoot her down.

Robert was even more devastated when they said that they had to cremate Trishy's body immediately, her blood being highly infectious due to the drug.

Another fake story was invented for Trishy's family as the VSSE now couldn't return her body. Trishy's mother was so devastated that she took her own life before Robert even knew it.

A few days after that, Robert found himself staring emptily at Trishy's name that had been newly carved onto the VSSE memorial, to be remembered as a brave agent who died courageously for the good of the world.

It would have been great if the tragedies that befell him ended there, but no, Robert just had to uncover something much worse.

Robert thought that after all the horror that happened due to Trishy using the drug, the VSSE would have learned its lesson and stopped using it immediately. But a little digging around uncovered that they were still producing and using the drug, particularly in the most confidential and difficult missions. Robert also found out that the most recent additions to the VSSE memorial were all agents who had fallen to the drug during their missions.

Learning the horrible truth, Robert stormed the VSSE Chief's office.

"Sir! You can't possibly be serious about continuing the use of the drug, can you?! How many more people are you going to kill?!"

"People die all the time during our missions, Mr. Baxter. You know that," the chief assured him, "The drug might have irreversible side effects. But from the statistics, it has a 100% chance of ensuring the mission's success. None of our agents died in vain."

"You turned them into mindless zombies! And their partnersーtheir best friends had to be the ones to end them once the mission's over!" Robert retorted, "Have you looked at what it did to the people around them, too? We can return none of their bodies and their families never had any closure!"

The VSSE Chief looked away solemnly. "It's our duty to do whatever it takes for the world's peace."

He looked at Robert again, unchanging in his resolve, "I've warned all the agents about its effects before giving it to them and told them not to use it unless it's a world-ending situation and it's absolutely necessary. I trust our agents' choice when they decide that they need to use it."

"..." Robert looked at him desperately.

"It's unfortunate that no matter how hard we try to improve the drug, it's physically impossible to maintain its effectiveness without any side effects. Please understand and respect the sacrifices that our agents made."

The conversation ended there.

Robert continued trying to persuade the chief to stop the use of the drug, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. He watched Trishy's name on the memorial get buried by a lot more names sharing the same horrible fate as hers. Robert wondered if there was any meaning to carrying out justice if they had to pay for it by stomping on the agents who carried it out.

Slowly, he began finding it difficult to stand the smiles of the citizens around him as he walked through the city, knowing that it had been paid for by the blood, suffering and tears of his friends, seniors as well as juniors. The VSSE chief being able to keep his composure despite all that sickened him. He felt angry and spiteful at the man for even allowing it.

Sitting alone in his room emptily twirling Trishy's ring between his fingers, Robert felt something in him break.

He couldn't stand living this lie anymore. He hated how the VSSE was so pretentiousーthrowing away its agents like a one-time-use tool in the name of 'justice'. He also hated the fact that none of the other agents would or could try to stop the chief's insane plans. In addition, it was also nerve-wrecking that the general public was oblivious to it all despite all the agents' sacrifices, living life for granted, hurting each other everyday instead of being grateful that Wild Dog or some other seasoned criminal hadn't blown them to bits yet.

Holding onto Trishy's ring tightly, Robert made up his mind to take matters into his own hands.

This world and all its lies needed to go.


	7. Ars Magna / The Great Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Stay tuned to the trivia chapter after this! If you hang around, I'll tell you something interesting about Trishy's name ;)  
> (Yeah, it's NOT a random name I just picked up XD)
> 
> Thanks to June Ellie for beta-reading this chapter.

**【Chapter 7: Ars Magna / The Great Art】**

Marc listened to Robert's story earnestly. He clenched his fists, frustrated that he was ignorant while all this was going on right under his nose.

"Kid... Remember when we first met?" Robert called out weakly, "We shared the same ideal about not using our agents as tools. You let the chief be and this will just continue. The VSSE has no right to carry out its missions after what it did." He paused, looking up at Marc.

"What are you going to do when you get back?"

Marc thought for awhile. Looking at the dead bodies around him, he felt that he'd certainly go ballistic himself if his partner Luke were to ever use the drug, even if it was to save the world.

"...I know that it could be necessary to use the drug sometimes, but I find that I can't agree with it," he replied. "But still, despite its methods, I think the world needs the VSSE. Remember how we always did our best to successfully complete our missions and do what is right? I think all our agents are sincere about saving the world. You used to be that way too, right? Our ideals and justice, it's not a lie at all!"

"..."

"But yes, when I get back, I'll make sure I punch some sense into the chief. I have the feeling that if you even offer such a drug to someone like Luke, he'll go ahead and use it without thinking! I mean, the idiot's probably okay with it, but not me!" Marc folded his arms and shook his head.

"VSSE agents are dependable and powerful, so I'm sure we can come up with alternative methods to get ourselves out of hairy situations without using any zombie drug shortcuts. I'll destroy the drugs myself if the chief tries to make us use it again!" He said with determination.

"Heh, I was right in counting on you to be a great agent in future, after all," Robert managed a smile, trying to fight back the effects of the zombie drug that was beginning to cloud his vision.

"Go look for your friend now," he said to Marc, "I have nothing against the two of you, so I missed him on purpose. He should be lying somewhere in the rubble."

"...!"

Holding Trishy's ring tightly, Robert took his handgun and held it to his jaw. "I can take care of myself here. Go now, and make a better world from the one I've destroyed. Also..." He paused for a moment.

"Keithーif he's still alive, tell him that I know he won't forgive me for everything I did, but I wish him luck and I'm glad to have worked with him in the past."

"..." Marc gave Robert a sad smile and nodded, taking his leave.

A gunshot echoed through the empty halls as the sound of Marc's footsteps faded into the shadows.

* * *

Luke was a little wounded, but otherwise completely fine when Marc found him. Marc hugged him tight, just glad that he got to see his easygoing friend again.

They immediately headed back to where everyone was. The moment Marc saw the chief, he just couldn't help punching him, to everyone's surprise. He then explained everything that happened. Marc would have passed on Robert's message to Keith as well, but he was out cold. Glad that Keith was at least alive and properly patched up, Marc made a mental note to tell him later.

"I see. So Robert did it for the reasons I suspected, after all," the chief said, his face clearly showing that he felt the weight of his responsibilities. "All of you probably want to punish me for that, huh? Although I wouldn't know what I can do to make up for all this. I have no excuses," he said, motioning to the destruction all around him.

"..." The other surviving agents looked at him silently, unsure of what to do. Luke waltzed in to do what he was always good at.

"No use crying over spilt milk!" He said, waving his arms, "The worst we can do is get into a fight over personal matters. We're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, so we need all the hands we can get!" Luke turned to the chief.

"Sir Chief! You're the only one here who knows how to get us together as a team, so if you really want to help, do your best to put this world back together, won't you?" He grinned.

"Except no zombie drugs this time!" Marc added. Catherine sighed, leaving Keith to get some rest and walking up to them.

"Well, you two are the only field agents who are still in good shape out of all of us. Hope you're ready to be on the front lines!"

"Hey! I'm tired and want a break, too!" Luke complained.

"Just how would a bunch of people like us take on this entire mess? We're totally outnumbered!" Marc said, looking at the zombies overrunning all the roads around the building. A voice from a megaphone interrupted him.

"Attention VSSE agents! This is Agent Richard Miller!"

Everyone looked up to see a chopper lowering itself to their rooftop. Richard was standing there at its door. Other surviving agents were peeking out from behind him.

"Agent Miller!" Catherine cried out in joy. Everyone around her looked relieved, pointing at the chopper and cheering. Richard hopped down from the chopper once it got close enough to the roof. He greeted the chief.

"Sir! Glad to see that there are survivors. We've come to rescue all of you."

"Sir Miller!" Luke jumped up and down, asking him excitedly, "Are there more survivors?!" Richard smiled at him and explained the situation.

"We fought tooth and nail, and we managed to secure several prisons in the US to use as our fortresses for now. Surviving agents are protecting the civilians in it under Agent Lambert and Agent Dunaway's command. We've also received confirmation from Agent Bruno and Agent Bernard that the agents in Europe have secured some useful areas. As of now, I'm expecting further news from the other VSSE agents around the world."

"YES!" Luke cheered, happy at the good news. Marc smiled at him, then looked across the horizon at the burning world around them with courage.

Time to bring back the beautiful world from this pile of ashes.

**【END】**

* * *

**【Epilogue】**

A week later, things had settled down, the surviving VSSE agents securing safety in their various strongholds. Keith, having finally recovered after slipping in and out of consciousness the whole week, stood by himself on the prison rooftop, looking out into the darkness of the night and reflecting on what Marc told him.

"Hey." Keith heard Marc call out to him as he approached. He turned back to look.

"You should be sleeping," Keith said.

"A little worried about you," Marc said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I was the one passing the message after all. I feel responsible to at least make sure that you're taking it well."

"Heh, I don't need to be looked after by a rookie," Keith joked.

Marc scratched his head. "So... You still angry at Robert?"

"Yeah," Keith said with a sigh, "A lot. But more than being angry for what he did, I'm angrier that he kept all that suffering to himself. I wish that he had come and shared his pain with me, his partner."

Keith turned around and looked into the distance again. "But well, that's Robert for youーalways pretending to be strong and taking on everything by himself. Despite what he did, I think that deep down, he's not a bad person."

Keith looked up at the starry skies, then. "With his part over, I wonder if he's watching over us now."

Marc smiled at him. "Yeah, pretty sure he is."

**【Epilogue End】**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This story's trivia collection in the next chapter →)


	8. Trivia Collection

**【Trivia Collection】**

**【Anagrams】**

\- 'Ars Magna' is an anagram of 'Anagrams'.  
In Latin, it means 'the great art'. Just take it as Robert destroying the world and the VSSE rebuilding everything again from the ashes.  
This whole fic idea came from that word! :D

\- 'Trishy Caryn' is an anagram of 'Christy Ryan'.  
Took me awhile to come up with it because there are two 'y's and I only have 2 vowels ;u;

* * *

**【Canon Material Used】**

This whole fic is my personal interpretation of these lines that appeared in the back half of TC5's canon script:

Keith: Word is, there's a drug that negates both pain and fear. It's like they're not even human.

Keith: He (Robert) wants to erase the VSSE entirely.

Keith: What are you planning to do with a drug that makes monsters like that?!  
Robert: I'll answer your question for you. To reset the whole world!

Robert: The world will meet its end with a drug from the hands pretending to save it.

Robert: But you'll learn the truth soon enough. There is more than just one right in the world.

**【Interpretation】**

Mainly, I'm putting everything above together and picking on Robert's last two lines up there in particular:

Both Robert and the VSSE are both right and wrong in their own ways.

The VSSE created the drug to counter world-ending situations. But although they succeed in doing that, they end up creating pain and suffering for the agents involved in using it.

Although it's done for the greater good, Robert couldn't sit with the fact that it felt as though it's okay for the agents to hurt themselves if everyone else is happy.

His anger led to him wanting to teach the VSSE and the world a lesson.

* * *

**【Confusing Part】**

The only part in the canon script which I couldn't find a good interpretation for no matter how I look at it is this one:

Keith: The mission I headed 3 years ago, look into it.  
Catherine: There WAS no mission 3 years ago.

Robert: The VSSE knew about its (the drug's) effects. That's why I sent you on that mission 3 years ago, to protect it. The mission was a failure though, hmph.  
Keith: So it WAS you!

↑Just WHAT is this mission about and what does 'to protect it' mean? o.O

'Protect' made it sound like the VSSE was trying to destroy is, which would make it the 'righteous' thing to do,  
so it's weird that Robert would have some beef with them and call them unjust after that.

If I have to think of an interpretation that makes sense, probably Robert was trying to get his hands on some sample so he can replicate it to make his missiles or something :/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all. Thanks for reading and I hope you had fun!  
> Again, this is all headcanon, so it'll be nice if the official TC ever reveals the actual reasons behind everything one day :)


End file.
